Giants’ Cueto could miss extended time with elbow injury

ATLANTA — The San Francisco Giants will spend three days in Atlanta before traveling to Philadelphia for a game on Monday.

Starter Johnny Cueto won’t follow the team to the northeast, though. Instead, he’ll spend Monday in the doctor’s office as orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews will evaluate the severity of Cueto’s elbow injury.

The right-hander was placed on the 10-day disabled list this week with right elbow inflammation and the team isn’t ready to rule out the possibility that Cueto could need surgery.

The exact nature of Cueto’s elbow injury has not been disclosed, but it’s possible he has a damaged UCL which could require Tommy John surgery.

“It’s going to be a little while,” manager Bruce Bochy said. “We’ll know Monday exactly what’s going to happen.”

The Giants are hopeful that Cueto’s injury can be rehabilitated without a significant procedure, but visits to Dr. Andrews are the type of appointments pitchers hope to avoid.

Through five starts, Cueto leads the National League with an 0.84 ERA and quickly assumed the role of staff ace following a disappointing, injury-riddled campaign in 2017. Cueto missed six weeks after last year’s All-Star break with blister issues on his pitching hand and a forearm strain.

With ace Madison Bumgarner sidelined due to a fractured fifth metacarpal in his pitching hand, Cueto dominated opponents at the start of the year, allowing just 22 baserunners in 32 innings.

Now, Cueto is set for a date with a noted sports physician in Pensacola, Fla., while Bumgarner is in the beginning stages of his rehab process.